Americans United - Family Research Councilhttps://www.au.org/tags/FRC
enGeneral Embarrassment: Army Reprimands Former Officer Boykinhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-embarrassment-army-reprimands-former-officer-boykin
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">An ex-Army general and top official of the Family Research Council is accused of &quot;a gross lack of judgment.&quot; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Let’s pretend that Americans United hired a former Army general for a top executive position. And let’s pretend that it came to light that this man had written a memoir containing sensitive information that compromised the security goals of the United States – a book he hadn’t bothered to first vet with the Pentagon, by the way.</p><p>How do you think the far right would be reacting? What would they be saying about Americans United?</p><p>Enough pretending. This actually happened – only it wasn’t Americans United that hired this loose-lipped general. It was the Family Research Council, the nation’s leading Religious Right political lobby.</p><p>The ex-general in question is William G. “Jerry” Boykin. He’s quite a piece of work, and his antics have graced this blog before.</p><p>(A quick Boykin sampler: He has asserted that military leaders are so disgusted with President Barack Obama that many want to <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/generally-nutty-frc-executive-says-some-in-the-military-are-itching-to-take">“take out” the president</a>. He says Muslims shouldn’t be allowed <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/boykin-no-mosques-america">to build any more mosques</a> in America. He once called America’s efforts to combat international terrorism a <a href="https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-urges-defense-dept-to-fire-controversial-general">“holy war.”</a>)</p><p>Boykin may have finally gone too far. <em>The Washington Post</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/exclusive-lt-gen-william-boykin-past-delta-force-commander-hit-with-army-reprimand/2014/05/22/264a7ea2-e0fd-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html">reported recently</a> that military officials “quietly” issued a “scathing reprimand following a criminal investigation that concluded [Boykin] had wrongfully released classified information….”</p><p>Reported the paper, “According to the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/05/22/National-Security/Graphics/boykin.pdf" target="_blank">Jan. 23, 2013, memorandum</a>, the Army determined that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Never-Surrender-Soldiers-Journey-Crossroads-ebook/dp/B0017SYMXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1401194119&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=never+surrender+a+soldier%27s+journey+to+the+crossroads+of+faith+and+freedom">Boykin’s 2008 book</a>, <em>Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom</em>, disclosed ‘classified information concerning cover methods, counterterrorism/counter-proliferation operations, operational deployments, infiltration methods, pictures, and tactics, techniques and procedures that may compromise ongoing operations.’” (<em>The Post</em> got information about this through a Freedom of Information Act request.)</p><p>The reprimand was pretty severe. A memo signed by Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, who at the time was the Army’s vice chief of staff, accuses Boykin of “unprofessional behavior” that “reflects poorly on your character.”</p><p>“As a former senior leader of the United States Army, you are expected to set and exemplify the highest professional and ethical standards,” reads the reprimand. “Your decision to disregard legal advice and allow <em>Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom</em> to be published without seeking classification review reflects a gross lack of judgment.”</p><p>Austin’s memo further states that Boykin’s actions are “prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces.”</p><p>Alas, the Army decided not to pursue criminal action against Boykin.</p><p>I know a few military people, and most of them would be pretty chastised to receive a letter like this. After all, the call to duty and the desire to serve your country are the factors that motivate many men and women to enlist. A memo like this lays it out starkly: You have let your country down. You have failed in your mission. Your nation expected better of you.</p><p>Most military people, after receiving a reprimand like this, would have the decency to feel ashamed and perhaps even try to make amends. Not Boykin. To him, the whole thing is, of course, a frame-up. He questioned the timeline and asked why it took the Army five years to sanction him.</p><p>“Any reprimand has to be taken seriously, so I don’t want to come across as flippant about it,” Boykin told <em>The Post</em>. He then proceeded to be flippant about it, adding, “But at this stage in my life, it really hasn’t had any impact on my life like it would have if it had happened when I was on active duty.”</p><p>Shorter Boykin: “I may have shafted my country, but I have another job now so who cares?”</p><p>This is the man, mind you, whose organization believes anyone who disagrees with its “Christian nation” mythology and its reckless campaign to mix fundamentalist religion and government like a tossed salad is practically a traitor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Religious Right types question the patriotism of those of us on the opposite side of the church-state divide.</p><p>A few years ago when Boykin was still in the Army, Americans United made note of his stunts and wrote to Pentagon leaders, requesting that he be fired. AU pointed out that Boykin’s tendency to frame the war on terror as a holy crusade was not helpful to U.S. interests.</p><p>Military officials didn’t listen to us. That’s unfortunate. If they had, perhaps this latest embarrassment could have been avoided.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/william-g-boykin">William G. Boykin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gen-lloyd-j-austin-iii">Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III</a></span></div></div>Tue, 27 May 2014 14:08:09 +0000Rob Boston10053 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/general-embarrassment-army-reprimands-former-officer-boykin#commentsTyranny: At The Values Voter Summit, A Heavy Word Is So Lightly Thrown https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tyranny-at-the-values-voter-summit-a-heavy-word-is-so-lightly-thrown
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">To supporters of the Religious Right, any attempt to stop them from running the lives of others is tyranny.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Yesterday my colleague Simon Brown <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/outrageous-oration-values-voter-summit-ignores-reality">offered some thoughts</a> on the Religious Right's <a href="http://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=PG13J03">Values Voter Summit</a>, which he attended this weekend.</p><p>I was there for part of it as well. One thing that struck me was the constant use of the word “tyranny.” To supporters of the Religious Right, any attempt to stop them from running the lives of others or expecting them to obey the same laws that the rest of us must follow is tyranny.</p><p>The word was frequently pressed into service during a Saturday afternoon session I attended titled “Where Do We go From Here?: Challenging Tyranny.”</p><p>One of the speakers, Dean Clancy of FreedomWorks, discussed tyranny extensively. Clancy told the crowd, “FreedomWorks is very much concerned about tyranny. It is a very real thing.”</p><p>Clancy blasted the “judicial tryranny” of Supreme Court rulings that legalized abortion, decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults and struck down key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act..</p><p>“These are all tyrannical decisions,” he fumed. A moment later Clancy blasted “fiscal tyranny” and “monetary tyranny” that, he said, are so bad that “eventually our country will be ruined financially.”</p><p>(Clancy’s answer to all of this tyranny is, not surprisingly, highly partisan. He told the crowd to elect the right kind of Republicans, remarking, “One Ted Cruz or Mike Lee is worth 10 Bob Corkers.”)</p><p>Terry Jeffrey, editor of the far-right <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/">CNSNews</a>, spoke just before Clancy. He also ranted about the “tyranny” of Obamacare and the requirement that most secular employers permit their workers to access health-care plans that include contraceptives.</p><p>“That’s a pretty powerful word – tyranny,” Jeffrey said. “But I think it’s an appropriate one.”</p><p>A third speaker, Luther Strange, attorney general of Alabama, talked about how state officials can block tyranny by gumming up federal laws and mandates.</p><p>Much of the outrage at the Summit, which was sponsored primarily by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and the Heritage Foundation, was aimed at the new health-care law. I realize that Americans have different opinions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Americans United doesn’t take a stand on it, except to say that the birth control mandate promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services reflects common sense and good public-health policy; someone’s decision to use birth control in no way impedes another’s religious liberty.</p><p>The American people may disagree on the ACA., but I would hope we could debate these issues with civility and employ some modicum of reason. Claims that the United States is on the verge of becoming a police state because of law that aims to help poor people get access to health care aren’t helpful. </p><p>Similar hyperbolic claims were made at another session I attended. The session ostensibly aimed to arm attendees with answers to “tough questions” about marriage equality and the HHS mandate. The answers given were familiar and tiresome Religious Right bromides wrapped in – you guessed it – claims of tyranny.</p><p>According to the Religious Right, it is “tyranny” to expect a businessperson who claims to serve the public to actually serve all of the public. These folks want a legal right to discriminate against LGBT Americans, and they scream “tyranny” when they are told that won’t fly. I suspect the innkeepers, restaurant owners, etc. in the Jim Crow South said the same thing when the federal government told them that their days of discriminating against African Americans were over.</p><p>I am a fan of the 1980s British pop band the Smiths. The Smiths’ singer and front man, who often went by his last name of Morrissey, is known for his ability to turn a clever phrase. In the song <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Difference_Does_It_Make%3F">“What Difference Does It Make?”</a> Morrissey warns of the dangers of “heavy words…so lightly thrown.”</p><p>Indeed there is a danger: In the case of the Values Voter Summit, a false definition of “tyranny” drains that word of its power. There are people in the world suffering under regimes that are really tyrannical. These people can be imprisoned, tortured and even killed for their religious or political beliefs.</p><p>In light of this, a Religious Right activist’s claims that our country has embraced “tyranny” because someone else is able to buy health care or get birth control sounds rather silly. It threatens to dull our senses to real tyranny and not speak up when we see it. In a world where every perceived slight is tyranny, it becomes too easy to overlook real instances of human-rights violations.</p><p>Morrissey was right. Tyranny is indeed a heavy word. Yet it was lightly thrown about at the Values Voter Summit.</p><p>For that – and for many other things – the Religious Right has so much to answer for. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/marriage-including-same-sex-marriage">Marriage (including same-sex Marriage)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/heritage-foundation">Heritage Foundation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/the-smiths">the Smiths</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/morrissey">Morrissey</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/birth-control-mandate">birth control mandate</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/affordable-care-act">Affordable Care Act</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/freedomworks">FreedomWorks</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/dean-clancy">Dean Clancy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/terry-jeffrey">Terry Jeffrey</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/luther-strange">Luther Strange</a></span></div></div>Tue, 15 Oct 2013 14:23:48 +0000Rob Boston9053 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tyranny-at-the-values-voter-summit-a-heavy-word-is-so-lightly-thrown#commentsValues Void: Religious Right Group Says Southern Poverty Law Center Is ‘Agent Of Hate’ https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/values-void-religious-right-group-says-southern-poverty-law-center-is-agent
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Is the American Family Association extreme? Judge for yourself. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A few days ago, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/members-of-congress-urged-to-not-legitimize-extremism-by-speaking-at-values-voter-">a press release</a> urging members of Congress not to attend the Family Research Council’s annual “Values Voter Summit,” which kicks off today.</p><p>The SPLC noted that the FRC and the American Family Association (AFA), which co-sponsors the Summit, “have long records of vilifying the LGBT community and spreading other forms of bigotry.”</p><p>In response, the AFA issued a press statement accusing the SPLC of being “an agent of hate by mindlessly and recklessly stirring up animosity against Americans who share the Christian values of the Founders.”</p><p>Furthermore, the AFA asserts, the SPLC is “a shameless fund-raising scam” that uses “innuendo, lies and manufactured charges” to rake in money. The SPLC’s crime, it seems, is that it has been raising funds to build an endowment – a fairly typical thing for non-profits to do.</p><p>Does the AFA spread bigotry? Is the group extreme? We can best answer those questions by examining some things that Bryan Fischer, the AFA’s director of issue analysis for government and public policy, has said within the past few years. Fischer has become a rock star in the world of the Religious Right by making outrageous statements. The AFA has made no effort to reel him in. </p><p>Here are just a few of Fischer’s greatest hits: </p><p><em>September 2013:</em> Fischer says that liberals plan to<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-liberals-seek-eliminate-us-public-society"> “eliminate” conservative Christians</a> from society and force them into special zones where they’ll be required to wear identifying badges – just like Nazi Germany.</p><p><em>June 2013:</em> In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act, <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/mad-over-marriage-religious-right-responds-to-today-s-supreme-court-rulings">Fischer tweets</a>, “With the DOMA decision, we have ceased to be a constitutional republic. The words “We the people’ are now meaningless” and “The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable. Matter of time.”</p><p><em>May 2013:</em> Men, Fischer <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/29/christian-radio-host-upset-by-female-breadwinners-women-not-designed-to-be-providers/">patiently explains</a>, are “designed to be breadwinners for their families.” Women, on the other hand, are supposed to focus on “making a home for her children and for her husband.” If a woman works outside the home and earns more than her husband, Fischer said, “that’s gonna put some stress on his psyche, gonna put some stress on that marriage.”</p><p><em>March 2011:</em> Fischer writes <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fischer-foolishness-religious-right-ranter-says-only-christians-have">a blog post </a>in which he opines that non-Christians have no legal rights in the United States. The First Amendment, he said, “was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity.” Fischer went on to assert, “From a constitutional point of view, Muslims have no First Amendment right to build mosques in America. They have that privilege at the moment, but it is a privilege that can be revoked if, as is in fact the case, Islam is a totalitarian ideology dedicated to the destruction of the United States.”</p><p><em>February 2011:</em> Native Americans, Fischer <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/opinion/radio-evangelist-preaches-an-ugly-message-18550">writes in a column</a>, deserved to have their land taken from them due to their “superstition, savagery and sexual immorality.” Observed Fischer, “The native American tribes at the time of the European settlement and founding of the United States were, virtually without exception, steeped in the basest forms of superstition, had been guilty of savagery in warfare for hundreds of years, and practiced the most debased forms of sexuality.”</p><p><em>March 2010:</em> Fischer opines that a killer whale at SeaWorld that killed its trainer must be <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/whale-tale-afa-staffer-says-bible-mandates-death-for-seaworld-orca">stoned to death</a> because that’s the biblical penalty for animals that cause the death of a human.</p><p><em>September 2009:</em> Addressing the Values Voter Summit, Fischer tells the crowd that <a href="https://au.org/church-state/october-2009-church-state/featured/of-piety-partisanship">Adolf Hitler invented the separation of church and state</a>. “Politics do not belong in the church, the church must be separate from the state – these two mottos, these two slogans…came directly from the mind of Adolf Hitler,” Fischer remarked. “Those two mottos, those two slogans, were official mottos, official slogans, of the Nazi Party.”</p><p>That’s just a sample of what the AFA’s star employee has been saying over the past few years. And what about the SPLC? What has it been up to?</p><p>Well, it has successfully sued a number of neo-Nazi groups (causing some of them to shut down), closely monitored white supremacist organizations and sounded the alarm about their activities, published data on hate groups and sponsored programs that educate young people about LGBT citizens and their rights – among other things.</p><p>I leave it to you to determine which group is extreme.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/defense-of-marriage-act">Defense of Marriage Act</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/native-americans">Native Americans</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/seaworld">SeaWorld</a></span></div></div>Fri, 11 Oct 2013 14:06:53 +0000Rob Boston9051 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/values-void-religious-right-group-says-southern-poverty-law-center-is-agent#commentsMoral Morass: Religious Right Groups Love To Judge Your Ethics – But How Are Their Own? https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/moral-morass-religious-right-groups-love-to-judge-your-ethics-but-how-are
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Something I’ve noticed from years of attending Religious Right meetings: a pattern of deceit.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>If you’re a political junkie you might be following a story out of Florida centering on a man named Nathan Sproul. Sproul <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/us/politics/nathan-sproul-a-republican-operative-long-trailed-by-voter-fraud-claims.html?emc=eta1&amp;_r=0">stands accused</a> of engaging in voter registration fraud.</p><p>The other day a reporter from Florida called to ask me some questions about Sproul. I was surprised to hear from her because I didn’t think I knew anything about him, other than what I had read in the papers.</p><p>But it turns out I do. I had to rack my brain a bit, but it did come back to me. Back in 1995, Americans United had a run-in with Sproul while several of us were attending a meeting of the Christian Coalition in Washington, D.C.</p><p>Although it’s pretty much a shell of an organization today, the Christian Coalition in the mid-1990s was a Religious Right powerhouse. Backed by the fortune of TV preacher Pat Robertson, the Coalition’s budget reached $22 million in some years. It had a network of chapters nationwide, and its activists had taken over the Republican Party in many states.</p><p>Sproul at the time was serving as field director of the Arizona branch of the Christian Coalition. He gave a talk about how to infiltrate local units of the GOP – in itself an interesting thing for a supposedly “non-partisan” group to do.</p><p>Sproul’s major recommendation was that people be less than honest about their ties. In an October 1995 <em>Church &amp; State</em> article (sorry – it’s not online), I reported that Sproul “urged attendees to become precinct committee chairs in the Republican Party but not to let anyone know the Christian Coalition is behind the move.” The idea was to build a presence in the GOP, get sent to the national convention and help pick the party’s presidential nominee.</p><p>Another speaker at that same session went on and on about how important it is to pose as a moderate – going so far as to recommend that you not sit near people perceived to be far right – so as to more effectively infiltrate the local party unit. (Once you’re in a position of power, of course, you can be as kooky right as you want to be.)</p><p>This is a pattern I’ve noticed from years of attending Religious Right meetings: There’s a lot of deceit. People are told to hide what they’re really about or to use stealthy techniques to infiltrate political groups.</p><p>In 2006, a speaker at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/speaker-at-values-voter-summit-recommends-church-based-organizing-plan-based-on">outlined a plan</a> to influence elections based almost entirely on deceit. Connie Marshner recommended calling people listed in church directories and finding out how they intend to vote by posing as a pollster. On election day, only those who indicated that they will vote for the favored candidate get a call back reminding them to vote. Marshner recommended people say they are calling from “ABC Polls.”</p><p>When someone in the audience asked what they should say if the person they called asked if they were working for a candidate, she recommended not being honest.</p><p>“Just say I’m collecting information about the candidates,” Marshner said. When others in the audience indicated some unease with the ethics of the plan, Marshner said it was time to move on.</p><p>One of the things that bothers me most about the leadership of the Religious Right is their smug arrogance. They loudly proclaim that their embrace of fundamentalism provides them with a superior platform for morality – the implication being that the rest of us have fallen short of their lofty position. They brag about their faith’s moral system and cast aspersions on those of us who have chosen a different spiritual or non-spiritual path.</p><p>They are so quick to judge others – yet what are their own ethics like?</p><p>They endorse an “end-justifies-the-means” theory of politics and engage in slash-and-burn forms of character assassination. </p><p>They embrace people like Newt Gingrich and actually charge a serial adulterer with the task of lecturing the nation on the need for “traditional marriage.”</p><p>They align with Ralph Reed, whose ethics are <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/march-2006-church-state/featured/wheel-of-misfortune">for sale</a> to the highest bidder.</p><p>They attack gay people and drive parents from their gay children – and have the audacity to call it “pro-family.”</p><p>They urge pastors to ignore the law and politicize their churches by endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit.</p><p>I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The more I read about Sproul’s troubles in Florida, the less surprised I am that he’s having difficulty. Maybe if he hadn’t spent so many years working for the Religious Right, the man might have a proper moral foundation.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/connie-marshner">Connie Marshner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/nathan-sproul">Nathan Sproul</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/christian-coalition">Christian Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/newt-gingrich">Newt Gingrich</a></span></div></div>Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:53:42 +0000Rob Boston7620 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/moral-morass-religious-right-groups-love-to-judge-your-ethics-but-how-are#commentsBerating Bigotry: Religious And Policy Groups Respond To Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Hysteriahttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/berating-bigotry-religious-and-policy-groups-respond-to-bachmann-s-anti
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A wide swath of the American religious and non-religious community believes Michele Bachmann is all wet.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s efforts to stir up an anti-Muslim witch hunt have sparked a bit of a pushback, to put it mildly.</p><p>As you might recall, Bachmann (R-Minn.) and four other House members (Trent Franks of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas J. Rooney of Florida and Lynn A. Westmoreland of Georgia) sent letters to the inspector general offices of the State, Justice and Homeland Security departments, demanding an investigation into the infiltration of our government by the Muslim Brotherhood.</p><p>This claim of an imminent takeover of the federal government by the Muslim Brotherhood is the latest conspiracy theory to be spat out of the far right-wing “hate-Muslims-hate-Obama” 24/7 nutcase cyclorama. It is getting traction only because we live in an era where, thanks to the Internet and Fox News, any crank with a modem is suddenly a media figure.</p><p>Seeing an opportunity to slam Obama and Muslims, Bachmann, a Religious Right favorite and erstwhile presidential candidate, latched onto this like a pit bull on a postal carrier and hasn’t looked back.</p><p>But the unfantastic five made a big mistake: They fingered Huma Abedin, a top deputy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as key to the conspiracy. Abedin, who is Muslim, is supposedly neck-deep in this thing because three of her family members are allegedly tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Among them is her father, who has been dead for 20 years.</p><p>All of this craziness was too much for U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/fearmongers-rebuked-mccain-upbraids-house-members-islamic-conspiracy">stood up on the Senate floor </a>and blasted the anti-Abedin crusade in strong language. McCain noted that he has worked with Abedin, considers her a friend and assailed those who question her patriotism.</p><p>Shortly after that, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio)<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/bachmann-affair-against-clinton-aide-huma-abedin-is-a-wake-up-call/2012/07/26/gJQAFHP4BX_blog.html"> told reporters</a> that he doesn’t know Abedin personally but added, “[F]rom everything that I do know of her she has a sterling character. Accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous.”</p><p>Even Ed Rollins, a GOP strategist who managed Bachmann’s presidential campaign, let her have it. Rollins <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/07/18/bachmann-former-campaign-chief-shame-on-michele/?intcmp=trending#ixzz210ivfo9G">wrote a column</a> stating, “I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy level….Shame on you, Michele!”</p><p>The Gang of Five responded by doubling down and insisting that they are right. Gohmert derided McCain and other critics as <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/07/24/576071/tea-party-congressman-calls-mccain-numb-nuts-for-criticizing-bachmanns-anti-muslim-witch-hunt/">“numb-nuts.”</a> (Keep it classy, Louie!) As for Abedin, she received at least one <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/weiner_wife_under_guard_nzAYoiDbaYyQVhYWD2PIgO#ixzz21REIF6la">death threat</a>.</p><p>I’m pleased to say that opposition to Bachmann’s xenophobia is spreading beyond the political world. Yesterday, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/michele-bachmann-muslim_n_1706546.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003">42 religious and public policy organizations</a>, including Americans United, signed <a href="/files/pdf_documents/Letter%20to%20Reps%20Bachmann%20Franks%20Gohmert%20Rooney%20and%20Westmoreland%20from%2042%20organizations%207-26-12%20%283%29.pdf">a joint letter</a> to Bachmann and the other four representatives letting them know that this type of religious bigotry has no place in the United States.</p><p>“Far from supporting the safety of our country, these accusations distract us from examining legitimate threats using proven, evidence-based security strategies,” asserts the letter, which was organized by the Interfaith Alliance. “Moreover, we know all too well the danger of casting suspicion on loyal and innocent Americans simply because they hold particular beliefs.</p><p>“We will not stand idly by and allow our country to revive federal investigations into innocent individuals based on their religious adherence. We will continue to speak out in support of people of all faiths and no faith, and the religious freedom of all Americans to practice – or choose not to practice – a religion without fear of criticism or suspicion.”</p><p>The range of signatories is impressive and includes groups that often don’t see eye to eye on other issues. Religious groups signing on include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Hindu American Foundation, American Baptist Churches USA, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the United Church of Christ.</p><p>Secular and public policy groups signing on include the American Humanist Association, American Atheists, the Center for Inquiry, the Secular Coalition for America, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Military Association of Atheists &amp; Freethinkers and the NAACP.</p><p>I’ve worked here a long time and don’t know that I’ve ever before seen a letter endorsed by both the Catholic bishops and American Atheists. I think it’s safe to say that a wide swath of the American religious and non-religious community believes the Bachmann gang is all wet.</p><p>Of course, the Religious Right is still in Bachmann’s corner. The Family Research Council (FRC) has <a href="http://www.frc.org/prayerteam/prayer-targets-marketing-evil-aurora-solemn-assembly-michelle-bachman-chick-fil-a">issued a prayer alert </a>asking its supports to rally around the “vigilant” lawmaker who, they say, is merely asking questions.</p><p>Let the FRC stand with Bachmann – and with the anti-American values she represents. As the new letter indicates, much of the rest of the religious and secular community in America has seen her bigotry and repudiated it.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-churches-and-politics">Other Issues regarding Churches and Politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/michele-bachmann">Michele Bachmann</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/huma-abedin">Huma Abedin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/louie-gohmert">louie gohmert</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-mccain">John McCain</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-boehner">John Boehner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ed-rollins">Ed Rollins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/us-conferene-of-catholic-bishops">U.S. Conferene of Catholic Bishops</a></span></div></div>Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:31:47 +0000Rob Boston7347 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/berating-bigotry-religious-and-policy-groups-respond-to-bachmann-s-anti#commentsWhite House Plot: For The Religious Right, Will 2012 Be Déjà Vu All Over Again?https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/white-house-plot-for-the-religious-right-will-2012-be-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-all-over
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Conservative religious leaders are meeting in a plot to oust President Obama.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Back in 1979, a group of ultra-conservative religious leaders began holding meetings to discuss the fate of President Jimmy Carter.</p>
<p>Many of these leaders had voted for Carter, an evangelical Christian, in 1976 but had soured on him. They were looking for a new political leader – one who would parrot their line on social issues – and found him in Ronald Reagan. Thanks in part to their support, Reagan went on to win election in 1980, and the modern Religious Right learned what it could do when it flexed some political muscle.</p>
<p>Is history about to repeat itself?</p>
<p>Ethicsdaily.com <a href="http://www.ethicsdaily.com/conservative-christian-leaders-plot-to-replace-obama-cms-17004 ">reports</a> that a band of right-wing religious leaders met in Dallas recently to plot a way to oust President Barack Obama in 2012. (The Web site is run by the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville – a moderate outfit not tied to the fundamentalist-dominated Southern Baptist Convention.)</p>
<p>Brian Kaylor, an Ethicsdaily.com contributing editor, reports that “about 40 conservative Christian leaders” attended the confab on Sept. 8-9. The event, Kaylor wrote, was convened by James Robison, a Texas-based TV preacher who was prominent in conservative politics in the 1980s. (Robison has served as a spiritual adviser to George W. Bush.)</p>
<p>Several officials of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) were there, among them Richard Land, president of the SBC’s Ethics &amp; Religious Liberty Commission, and Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.</p>
<p>A number of mega-church pastors were also there, along with: Johnnie Moore, a vice president at Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University; Doug Napier, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund; Maggie Gallagher, a columnist and crusader against same-sex marriage; Jim Garlow, chairman of Newt Gingrich’s Renewing American Leadership; Gene Mills, executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Jay Richards, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute.</p>
<p>Kaylor contacted a number of attendees, but none would talk to him about the gathering. Earlier this year, however, Robison, who frequently attacks Obama on his blog, talked on the record about the September meeting and compared it to the effort to oust Carter three decades ago.</p>
<p>“I am presently more deeply concerned than I was during Carter's administration,” Robison wrote on one blog post. “The circle of counsel around our current President is not just disappointing, it’s absolutely shocking.”</p>
<p>There are a number of interesting angles to this. Has American society changed enough since 1979 that a backroom effort like this might meet some stiff resistance? If the economy continues to plod along, will voters look at Obama like they did Carter and swing to the far right, putting the Religious Right in a powerful position?</p>
<p>Most importantly, what exactly do these religious leaders – most of whom lead tax-exempt ministries or churches – plan to do to defeat Obama? If their scheme is to mobilize churches around a candidate to replace the president, one would think the Internal Revenue Service might have something to say about that. Houses of worship and other ministries hold a tax exemption that forbids electioneering.</p>
<p>Interestingly, three TV preachers who took part in the meeting – Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Joyce Meyer – already have been the subjects of investigations. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) began <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2008/01/prophets-profit.html">looking into</a> the trio’s finances for living high on the hog while running tax-exempt entities.</p>
<p>Are these three itching for another investigation?</p>
<p>In any case, this scheme bears watching closely. Its legality is questionable, and it also looks like yet another power play by the Religious Right, perhaps aided and abetted by their allies in the Tea Party.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/churches-and-politics">Churches and Politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/brian-kaylor">Brian Kaylor</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creflo-dollar">Creflo Dollar</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-robison">James Robison</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/joyce-meyer">Joyce Meyer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kenneth-copeland">Kenneth Copeland</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/richard-land">richard land</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/southern-baptist-convention">Southern Baptist Convention</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span></div></div>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:48:16 +0000Rob Boston2134 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/white-house-plot-for-the-religious-right-will-2012-be-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-all-over#commentsBully Boys: Arkansas Extremist Has Recanted, But Religious Right Gang Is Still Lurking Behind The Schoolhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bully-boys-arkansas-extremist-has-recanted-but-religious-right-gang-is
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>This weekend, I’ll be joining the large crowds taking over Washington for Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity.”</p>
<p>I don’t really know what to expect of the event, or if it will actually “restore sanity.” But I do know Stewart’s title choice couldn’t be more perfect, especially when I consider the many people in this country who have taken to saying and doing really idiotic things lately.</p>
<p>A good example of this is Clint McCance, a school board member in an Arkansas community who <a href="http://advocate.com/News/News_Features/Arkansas_School_Board_Member_Thinks_Fags_Should_Die/">used his Facebook page</a> last week to encourage gay people to kill themselves.</p>
<p>Responding to a call to wear purple Oct. 20 in support of five LGBT youth who had killed themselves, reportedly because of bullying, McCance, vice president of the Midland School District in Pleasant Plains, Ark., wrote the following:</p>
<p>"Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed thereselves because of their sin. REALLY PEOPLE."</p>
<p>McCance, responding to comments on his post, cited religious reasons in part for his hatred of gay kids.</p>
<p>“I would disown my kids [if] they were gay,” he wrote. “They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off. Of course my kids will know better. My kids will have solid christian beliefs. See it infects everyone."</p>
<p>Soon after McCance posted his comments, several education, religious and gay rights organizations spoke out forcefully.</p>
<p>“Clint McCance has put a face on the hate that devastates our young people,” says Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "McCance shouldn't be allowed near children, let alone managing their education. We call for his immediate resignation from the school board."</p>
<p>In response to the wave of protests, McCance appeared on CNN’s “AC360” with Anderson Cooper and announced his resignation. He also issued an apology.</p>
<p>"The only thing I can do is extend my apologies for my poor speech," he <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/29/AR2010102900532.html">said</a>. "I don't wish death on anyone."</p>
<p>McCance did the right thing in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/29/clint-mccance-arkansas-sc_n_775828.html">resigning</a>. We can only hope he has truly come to his senses.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for many Religious Right zealots who don’t seem to believe statements like McCance’s are a problem – after all, this school official is just asserting his free speech rights, right?</p>
<p>That’s what the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the Family Research Council (FRC) and other Religious Right groups seem to believe.</p>
<p>Religious Right groups oppose most anti-bullying policies, claiming that such protections might hinder their freedom to speak out against “sin” in keeping with the commands of their faith. In other words, they want students to have the right to use hateful language if they want, especially if it’s religion-based.</p>
<p>The ADF’s David J. Hacker has <a href="http://blog.speakupmovement.org/university/freedom-of-speech/u-s-department-of-education-sends-conflicting-messages-about-speech/">criticized</a> the Obama administration for pushing for anti-bullying measures, saying it infringes on free speech and will lead to more litigation.</p>
<p>Tony Perkins, FRC’s president, said anti-bullying policies are unnecessary because bullying of gay students is not the cause for harm.</p>
<p>"These young people who identify as gay or lesbian, we know from the social science that they have a higher propensity to depression or suicide because of that internal conflict," said Perkins.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/27/tony-perkins-gay-teen-suicide_n_774580.html">According to Perkins</a>, homosexuality is "abnormal,” and kids know it, which leads them to despair – not the bullying.</p>
<p>Talk about senseless. Hacker and Perkins want to continue their gay-bashing rants so much that they are okay if it harms students in the process.</p>
<p>That’s not okay. We’re all for freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but there’s a difference between free expression and intimidation -- religiously grounded or not. A public school is not the place to spew hateful rhetoric. All students need to feel safe and welcome, not subjected to vitriol and harassment. It’s plain and simple.</p>
<p>P.S.: We are proud to see Americans United Arkansas Chapter President Bob Klein, pastor of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Little Rock, <a href="http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2010/10/29/religious-leaders-speak-on-bullying-mccance-resignation">stand up</a> this morning with the Arkansas Interfaith Alliance in support of bullied gay and lesbian teens. He was joined by several other religious leaders who believe using religion to expand hate is “unconscionable.”</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alliance-defense-fund-adf">Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/anderson-cooper">Anderson Cooper</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/anti-bullying">Anti-bullying</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/arkansas">Arkansas</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bullying">Bullying</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/clint-mccance">Clint McCance</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/david-j-hacker">David J. Hacker</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/freedom-religion">Freedom of Religion</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/freedom-speech">Freedom of Speech</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gay-and-lesbian-teens">gay and lesbian teens</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/human-rights-campaign">Human Rights Campaign</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/joe-solmonese">Joe Solmonese</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jon-stewart">Jon Stewart</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rally-restore-sanity">Rally to Restore Sanity</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-discrimination">religious discrimination</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span></div></div>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:23:06 +0000Sandhya Bathija2476 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bully-boys-arkansas-extremist-has-recanted-but-religious-right-gang-is#commentsIt’s Their (Tea) Party – And The Religious Right Is Invited: Poll Shows Movements Closely Linkedhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/it%E2%80%99s-their-tea-party-%E2%80%93-and-the-religious-right-is-invited-poll-shows
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">About 11 percent of Americans identify with the Tea Party movement, and 22 percent say they belong to the Religious Right.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A new poll confirms what a lot of us have suspected for a while now: The Tea Party and the Religious Right are more or less in sync.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/10/05/130353765/new-poll-tea-party-overwhelmingly-christian-and-socially-conservative">poll</a>, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that nearly half (47 percent) of Tea Party activists consider themselves part of the Religious Right. They are also overwhelming Christian, with 81 percent identifying with that faith.</p>
<p>And what about all of that talk about the Tea Party being heavily libertarian and composed mainly of secular conservatives who just want low taxes and less government spending? This survey casts doubt on that. Sixty-three percent say abortion should be illegal, and only 18 percent favor same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>Finally, like the Religious Right, the Tea Party is quite partisan, leaning heavily Republican. Seventy-six percent say they belong to the GOP.</p>
<p>Last month I attended the Family Research Council’s <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2010/10/an-invitation-to-tea.html">“Values Voter Summit”</a> here in Washington, D.C. It was essentially a Tea Party/Religious Right love fest. It’s clear that Religious Right leaders hope to harness the energy of the Tea Party movement and use it to help elect favored candidates and push its theocratic agenda.</p>
<p>NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty put together an <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130238835">interesting piece</a> recently on the Tea Party and religion. Hagerty quoted John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron, who pointed out that the Tea Party came along at just the right time.</p>
<p>“There was an opening on the right for organizations and candidates and groups that could appeal to different elements of the religious coalition,” Green said. “In many ways, the Tea Party has filled that niche.”</p>
<p>It’s also important to remember that some Religious Right groups helped the Tea Party grow. I first heard of the movement in 2009 through e-mails sent by the Rev. Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association (AFA). The AFA sent so many of them that early on I made the mistake of assuming that the Tea Party was a project of that group.</p>
<p>The new poll shows that about 11 percent of Americans identify with the Tea Party movement and that 22 percent say they belong to the Religious Right. (Other polls have put the latter number at 15-18 percent.)</p>
<p>Eleven percent may not seem like a lot, but remember this: These people are motivated and politically active. With so many Americans staying home on Election Day, a determined minority can have a disproportionate impact on the results.</p>
<p>I’ve said it before and I’ll say it once again: The Religious Right is not dead. In fact, that movement has just been given a new dose of vitality – thanks to a big cup of tea.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/barbara-bradley-haggerty">Barbara Bradley Haggerty</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/john-green">John Green</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/public-religion-research-institute">Public Religion Research Institute</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tea-party">tea party</a></span></div></div>Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:23:52 +0000Rob Boston2120 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/it%E2%80%99s-their-tea-party-%E2%80%93-and-the-religious-right-is-invited-poll-shows#commentsGiving The Devil His Due: FRC Staffer Says Americans Who Fail To Toe The Religious Right Line Are Serving Satan https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/giving-the-devil-his-due-frc-staffer-says-americans-who-fail-to-toe-the
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">We are all &#039;values voters.&#039; Those of us who disagree with the Religious Right’s narrow theology have values too.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Are you an agent of Satan?</p>
<p>Kenyn Cureton is worried that you might be. Cureton is vice president for church ministries for the Family Research Council. During the FRC’s recent “Values Voter Summit,” he warned attendees at a breakout session on churches and politics to be ready for some intense action.</p>
<p>“The battle that we’re fighting,” he said, “is not just a political and cultural battle, it’s a spiritual battle.”</p>
<p>And when a battle is spiritual, you can be sure that some people are serving the wrong side.</p>
<p>“When you think about it, you know, the real enemy is not the poor, deluded souls who are advancing these evil agendas,” Cureton said. “Really, they’re just simply pawns in the hands of their malevolent master. They’re simply doing the bidding of the devil, OK?”</p>
<p>So here’s how it goes: You either agree with the Religious Right on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, church-state relations and so on or you’re buddies with Beelzebub!</p>
<p>These guys have a lot of nerve.</p>
<p>But Cureton, a Southern Baptist pastor and former denominational official, wasn’t done there. Imploring right-wing evangelicals to politicize their churches and blanket them with “voter guides” (documents that are always stacked to favor the most right-wing candidate), he insisted that the last thing you want to do is turn out the vote across the board. Only the people who agree with the Religious Right should be targeted on Election Day, he said.</p>
<p>“We’re not just encouraging people to vote however,” Cureton said. “That’s what happened in the last election. That’s how Obama got elected – a bunch of stupid evangelicals who didn’t even use their biblical values when they went in the voting booth.”</p>
<p>I’ll break this one down for you too: Either you vote in a way that comports with the FRC’s view on social issues, or you’re stupid.</p>
<p>Such arrogance!</p>
<p>Let me explain something to Cureton: We are all “values voters.” Those of us who disagree with the Religious Right’s narrow theology and burning desire to “Christianize” (as you define Christian) this nation have values too.</p>
<p>Ours are a little different than yours, Kenyn. We value things like tolerance, diversity, secular government and complete religious liberty for all, supported by the wall of separation between church and state. We value the wisdom of the Founders and will defend it.</p>
<p>We value the Constitution, a document you and your pals in the Religious Right claim to revere but all too often treat like a first draft. (How many amendments does the Religious Right want to add? Let’s see – school prayer, government funding of religious schools, anti-abortion, anti-gay-marriage, “parental rights.” Have I forgotten any?)</p>
<p>It has been said many times that politics is the art of compromise. One of the main problems with the Religious Right’s approach to politics is that it tosses that maxim out the window. How can you compromise with people who are Satan’s imps?</p>
<p>Many political analysts believe that the nation is more polarized than ever. I believe it. Attitudes like Cureton’s go a long way in explaining how we got here.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/elections">Elections</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kenyn-cureton">Kenyn Cureton</a></span></div></div>Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:45:46 +0000Rob Boston2116 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/giving-the-devil-his-due-frc-staffer-says-americans-who-fail-to-toe-the#commentsWeekend Warriors: Lessons From The ‘Values Voter Summit’https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weekend-warriors-lessons-from-the-%E2%80%98values-voter-summit%E2%80%99
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Here are some lessons from the &#039;Values Voter Summit.&#039;</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I survived the <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/119577-social-conservatives-feel-strong-momentum-at-values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a> this past weekend. I’ll have a full report in the October <em>Church &amp; State</em>, but here’s a sneak preview of some of the things I learned at this event:</p>
<p><strong>If you keep waking up at 3 a.m., God probably wants you to form a Tea Party group: </strong>Two Tea Party activists spoke about being so concerned over the state of the nation that they couldn’t sleep at night. Finally, they concluded that God was waking them with an urgent order to form Tea Party groups. What finally convinced them of this was hearing Fox News Channel’s Glenn Beck describe similar middle-of-the-night wakings. Personally, I’d suggest cutting down on the caffeine before bedtime.</p>
<p><strong>France invented the separation of church and state: </strong>You thought Thomas Jefferson and James Madison came up with the idea of dividing religion and government, but former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) set us all straight: It was those cheese eaters across the pond! Along with the guillotine and existentialism, this must rank as one of their greatest accomplishments.</p>
<p><strong>The Religious Right does not want theocracy: </strong>Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association (AFA) made this clear: Groups like the AFA and the Family Research Council don’t want a theocracy. (That’s what those nasty Muslims want!) The Religious Right merely wants to see a flock of “Christian statesmen” who will “align the public policy of the United States with the will of God.” Yes, that’s <em>much </em>better. Thanks for clarifying, Bryan!</p>
<p><strong>If a cranky guy in a cowboy hat says it, you can take it to the bank: </strong>Dale Peterson, who ran unsuccessfully for agriculture commissioner in Alabama, appeared on stage to rant and rave about, well, lots of things. The gist seemed to be that this straight talkin’, gun totin’, cowboy boots wearin’, horse ridin’ everyman doesn’t much like President “Barry” Obama or the Democrats. He later told a reporter that Obama was not born in America.</p>
<p><strong>Obama stole the election: </strong>At a session on how get out the vote on Election Day, a distraught woman disrupted the proceedings to insist that something be done about Obama’s theft of the 2008 election. The woman, a resident of Virginia, said it was clear he had stolen it. Her evidence for this was a claim that a man named “Jose” voted five times at her precinct.</p>
<p><strong>Be afraid, very afraid, of ‘the elites’: </strong>The mysterious and nefarious group known as “the elites” – I’m thinking it would be more frightening to capitalize them as The Elites – was attacked by numerous speakers. None bothered to explain who these people are, but it’s clear they want to tear down the nation, destroy religion, turn our children into hedonists and possibly force grandma to appear before a Death Panel. Former FRC head Gary Bauer said The Elites “treat the Constitution like toilet paper.” That Gary – he’s always keeping it classy!</p>
<p><strong>It’s OK to wear costumes to the Summit: </strong>Once again, I enjoyed seeing the boys from the American Society from Tradition, Family and Property at the Summit. This band of monarchy-loving ultra-Catholic medievalists sponsored a booth in the exhibit hall, as they did last year. Again they handed out fliers attacking same-sex marriage – while wearing sashes, capes and brooches. I really wanted to ask where they got that stuff. After all, Halloween is only five weeks away.</p>
<p><strong>Act as normal as possible: </strong>Gil Mertz, an FRC staffer who serves as emcee of the event, reminded attendees that reporters were present and urged them to think about the Religious Right’s image when they are interviewed. “Don’t be the weird one,” he implored the crowd. Hate to break it to you, Gil, but it’s not a good sign when you have to remind people not to be weird.</p>
<p>It was a whole lot of crazy, and I had to detox by watching reruns of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow online for six hours. Look for my full report next month.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bryan-fischer">Bryan Fischer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/dale-peterson">Dale Peterson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/FRC">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gil-mertz">Gil Mertz</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rick-santroum">Rick Santroum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tea-party">tea party</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/values-voter-summit">Values Voter Summit</a></span></div></div>Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:58:30 +0000Rob Boston2115 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weekend-warriors-lessons-from-the-%E2%80%98values-voter-summit%E2%80%99#comments